Governor



Feb. 10, 1959 H. ROEDER 2,873,105

GOVERNOR Filed Aug. 28, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-2 RQLF H. ROI-:DER

INVENTOR.

MN-M

Feb. 10, 1959 GOVERNOR Filed Aug. 28, 1956 R. H. ROEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ACCELERATI'ON DEC ELERATION ROLF H. ROEDER INVENTOR.

United States Patent@ GovERNon llolf H. Roeder, Wuerzburg, Germany, assignor to Worthington Corporation, Harrison, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Thepresent invention relates generally vto governors and moreparticularly to a variable speed governor, the Control action of which isv derived from the pressure of aV rotating mass of fluid; Y l y In the'copending application, Serial No.` 606,713, filed August 28, 1956, 'a hydraulic mechanical governor is disclosed wherein `once the `'operating speed of the governor is set it is necessary to stop the device or `the governor to modify'or adjust the governor to operate at a new speed setting. l h yThe present invention overcomes this problem by providing a hydraulic mechanical governor wherein within the iiuid capacity ofthe governor the speed at which the governor operates may be varied to an infinite number of settings without stopping or interfering with the operation of the' governoror the deviceon which it is mounted.

In accordance with the present invention, ahydraulic mechanical governor is provided comprising a vessel fixedly connected to and rotatable with the shaft of the device to be governed and a slidable piston member mounted in said vessel to form a liquid compartment for containing actuating uid, the fluid to be rotated by intermeshing vanes on said vessel and piston respectively so that the uid will cause the lpiston member to reposition itself and in turn actuate a control'rod connec-ted thereto and tothe mechanism which controls the speed of the device to be'governedtand hence the speed of the shaft; tension means being provided to normally urge the slidable piston member in a direction opposite but proportional to any vdecrease in force exerted by said actuating tluid on said piston member during operation and means being provided in -said uid compartment to provide communication between said compartnient and'alsource of actuating uid, which means is radially adjustable therein from a point externally of the governor for controlling the amount, of fluid in said compartment to secure the desired speed setting.

The present invention provides a shaft governor actuated by pressure of a rotating mass of fluid therein which requires little energy, needs no cooling, and the control action is not affected by viscosity changes. Y

The present invention further provides a variable speed governor which produces an instantaneous control action of the shaft to which it is attached and eliminates any hunting of the governor.

The invention' will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and in which t Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the governor embodied in the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar-to Figure 1 showing a moditied form ofthe governor of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3--3 of Figure 2 and, Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the flow pattern of the liquid across the vane portion of the vessel body i Figure 1 during speed changes of the governor.

Referring to Figure l, the reference numeral desig- Patented Feb. 10, 1959 'ice . i 2 nates ,a substantially cylindrical governor vessel provided with a hub portion 11, iixed on a shaft 12 by a key 13 for rotation with the shaft. A diaphragm or piston member 14 is slidably mounted in said vessel by means of bellows 15 connected at one end to the outer edge of the diaphragm and at the other end to a backup or cover element 16 provided atthe end of the vessel 10 remote from the shaft connected end. The piston member'14 delineating a liquid compartment generally designated 17 in the vessel 10 for receiving actuating fluid as hereinafter described. s f

The vessel 10 is further provided at the shaft attached end'with a -plurality of' vanes '18 which vanes radiate from points spaced from the axial center of the vessel tothe inner periphery thereof and are circumfercntially disposed about the axialcenter of the vessel in spaced relation to each other. The varies 18 extend axially into the liquid compartment 17 where they intermesh and overlap the adjacent legs of a plurality of similarly disposed radially extending U-shaped vane members' 19 mounted by their respective legs remote from vanesv 18 to the face of the diaphragm member 14 delineating the liquid compartment 17.

This arrangement of vanes'defines a circumferential portion 20 in the liquid compartment 17 about the axial center of the vessel in which is disposed a container or cylindrical vessel 21 formedl integrally with a non# rotatable control' rod 22 mounted between a bearing 23 in the hub portion 11 of the vessel 10 and to a sleeve bearing 24 outwardly of the vessel 10, the control rod 22 thus being disposed toextend axially outward from the compartment 17 through the diaphragmll and an opening 16 providedfin the backup or cover plate 16 for the vessel 10. The control rod 22 connects through a suitable lever 25 tothe mechanism, not shown, which controls the speed of the device to be governed.

The vanes also form an annular portion 26 in the liquid compartment concentric to the circumferential portion 20, the purpose of which will appear clear hereinafter.

Figure 1 further shows the control rod 22 provided with a thrust collar 27 which is adapted to `engage a shoulder 28 provided on the diaphragm 14 and a snap ring 29 so that the control rod will be moved axially when the diaphragm 14 is actuated by the fluid in the liquid compartment as hereinafter described. A spring member 30 mounted about the control rod 22 is disposed so that opposite ends thereof abut the backup plate 16 and the diaphragm member 14 to normally urge the diaphragm member 14 towards the shaft end of the vessel 10 and the spring member will at all times urge the diaphragm member 14 in a direction opposite to but proportional to the reduction in force exerted by the actuating fluid in thecompartment 17 during the operation of the governor.

A sealing means 31 is provided to engage the thrust collar 27 to prevent uid from entering the bellows member 15 when the governor is-not in operation.

The cylindrical vessel or container 21 has a fluid supply chamber 32 formed therein which communicates through a passage 33 formed in the control rod 22 in turn communicating'through connecting line 34 with a constant level reservoir 35 for actuating duid which passages are in open communication at all times to allow uid to tlow to and from the reservoir and the supply chamber as is required during the operation of the governor. A pump `36 having its discharge connected to the lower end ofthe tank 35 and an overow pipe 37 act to maintain the level of the fluid in the reservoir constant. v

The cylindrical vessel 21 has a radially slidable nozzle element 38 disposed therein which is elongated so that it can extend substantially the full depth of the annular portion 26 formed by the U-shaped vanes 19 in the liquid compartment 17. The radially slidable nozzle has ports 39 adjacent the outer end thereof to establish communication between the annular portion 26 formed in the yliquid compartment 17 and the fluid -supply chamber 32 in the cylindrical vessel 21 to' allow uid to ilow to and from said liquid compartment and fluid supply chamberl as required during operationl of the governor. v

The radially slidable nozzle is pivotally connected through a support 39 to an eccentric 40 fixed tto and moved by an adjusting shaft 41 which extends axially through the passage 33 in the control rod 22and `outwardly of the end ofthe control rod where it is connected to a handle or crank member 43. Rotation of the crank will move the eccentric 41 which in turn displaces the nozzle element radially inward and outward ofthe container or cylinder 21 so that .the ports 39 maybe positioned radially at an infinite number of points-in the annular portion 26 formed by the vanes 19 in the liquid compartment 17.

Operation If the reservoir 35 has actuating uidvtherein then the liquid compartment L17, the nozzle 38, the fluid supply chamber 32, passage 33, and connecting line 34 will be filled with actuating fluid by reason of the free communication of these chambers and passages.

Whether the device to be governed is in operation or not and hence whether the governor is being rotatedby l the shaft or not, the nozzle element 38 may be positioned to any predetermined radial distance into the annular portion 26 of the liquid compartment by rotating the crank 43 as above'described.

The position of the nozzle will determineA the quantity of Huid that will remain in the liquid compartment during the operation of the governor. Thus, on rotation ofy the governor a ring of actuating fluid will be formed therein, the action of centrifugal force acting to return a certain portion of the fluid in the liquid compartment to the fluid supply chamber 32 through the ports 39 of the nozzle element 38. The amount of fluid that is drained from orreturned to the fluid supply chamber will depend on the equilibrium which is established between the centrifugal force exerted by the rotating fluid, the statichead of the uid in the fluid Supply chamber32 and the automaticcounter force exerted by the spring 30 which is overcome by the centrifugalforce. The effect of the centrifugal force acting through the fluid in the compartment 17 against the diaphragm 14 Will be to move the diaphragm outwardly. This in turn actuates the control rod 22 and lever 25 to control the mechanism not shown, in turn controlling thel speed of the device to be governed and this setting will be the predetermined speed setting for the particular radial position at which the nozzle element 38 has been set.

If it is desired to change the speed setting to a new speed at which it is desired to control the device to be governed, the crank 43 may be once again rotated to position the nozzleV element to a new radial position to produce such speed setting and the fluid in the liquid compartment 17 will readjust itself till an equilibrium is reached once again as was above described relative to the initial setting of the nozzle element 38. In accordance with the change in equilibrium, fluid will either be discharged from or drained to the uid supply chamber 32 causing variations in the pressure of the actuating fluid which either increases or decreases the axial movement of the diaphragm 'member 14 with a corresponding change in the control rod 22 and lever 25 to modify through suitable well known mechanism the speed of the device to be governed.

VSince the crank member 43 is disposed externally of the governorvessellO, it is believed clear that .the nozzle element 38 maybe adjusted and the governorrsetat a 4 new speed without the necessity of stopping the loperation of the governor or the device being governed.

The form of the invention shown in Figure l will also react substantially instantaneously to variations in the speed of the governor caused by variations in the load on the device being governed. This sharp reaction rate prevents hunting by the governor in returning the device being governed to the specific or predetermined speed setting.

In this respect, the present governor operates identically with the fixed speed type hydraulic mechanical governor illustrated and describedin the copending application Serial No. 606,713 led August 28, 1956.

Thus, referring to Figure 4, Figure 4a shows the condition of the fluid ring in compartment 17 when the load on the device being governed is substantially constant. Figure 4b shows the dynamic condition as the load varies to cause the shaft and hence the governor speed to accelerate. Under this condition, theportion of-,theliquid in compartment 17 which` is connedbetween the-,intermeshing vanes 18 and l19 will be accelerated withthe governor while that portion of theziiuid inthe compartment 17 disposedl inthe annular portion 26 will lag.due to the inertia of the mass of the fluid. The higher pressure or force of the-faster rotating mass of tluid `disposed betweenthe vanes 18 and 19 will act to force the 4fluid in the annulanportion 26l toward the center of the compartment 17 creating a free surface substantially'as shown in Figure 4b. However,-since the axial openings 39 of the nozzle 38 communicate with the space -adjacent the portionofithe compartment occupied by the intermeshing vanes 18 and 19 and the fluid contained therebetween is instantaneously discharged into this space formed between the intermeshing vanes to join the mass of uid and to rotate therewith thereby increasing the lstatic head orpressure-which willV in turnmove the diaphragm 14 in turnl actuating the rod/22 connected thereto and to the mechanism, not shown, controlling the deviceto be governed to reduce the speedvthereof to the predetermined speed setting of the governor.

Conversely, Figure 4c shows the dynamic .condition when the load on the device to be, governedincreases, thereby causing the shaft and,hence, theA governor to decelerate. When this occurs the portion of the iluid which is confined between vanes 18 and y19 will in turn be decelerated at the same time `while the liquid in vthe annularportion 26 will continue in motion attheI higher speed. The higher force now exerted by the faster` moving mass :of fluid in the annular portion 26,'wi1lcausc theuuid rotatingin the compartment 17 to assume a free surface similar to that shown in Figure 4c and once again by reason of the positionof the axialports 39.in the nozzle 38 fluid will be caused` to drain olf from thc intermeshing vanes 18 and.19.thereby reducing thestatic head or pressure in the total mass'of iluid;in'the.compartment 17 acting against the diaphragm 14. Spring 30-will now actto move the diaphragm member -14.in a direction opposite and proportional to the forceexerted by the fluid in the liquid compartment which iny turn causes the diaphragmto actuate the governor rod .22 in a direction towards the shaft end of the vessel.v10 to signal the mechanism to increase the speed of the device to the predetermined speed setting of the governor.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2 also provides a hydraulic mechanical ygovernor-which may be'varied to an infinite number of speed settings and in which the inner radius of the actuating fluid ismaintained constant for any specific setting to prevent hunting by the governor through the operationy of la continuous ow of actuating iluid into and out of' the liquid compartment during operation of the governor.

Figure 2 shows a vessel 50 having a perforated disc 51 formed integrally therewith and disposed in thevessel "50 adjacent one end of the vessel. The perforated disc has a hub- 52 along the axial linevof the `vessel which is keyed as at 53 to the shaft 54 of the device, not shown, to be governed so that the vessel 50 will be rotatable with the shaft 54 during all times that the device is in operation. A piston 55 is slidably mounted in the vessel 50 to provide a liquid compartment generally designated 56 between the perforated disc 51 and the piston `member 55. 1

A slot 57 in the piston 55 and a pin 58 in the member 50 will allow the piston to slide relative to the vessel and to rotate with the vessel. A spring member 59 between the piston and a backup member 60 on the end of the vessel remote from the shaft connected end will normally urge the piston towards the disc member 51 and during operation will at all times act to move the piston in a direction opposite and proportional to the decrease in force exerted by the actuating fluid in the compartment 56 as is hereinafter described.

The backup member 60 is provided with opening-61 to drain any leakage huid by-passing the piston from the liquid compartment 56.

The piston member 55 is further connected to a nonrotatable hollow control rod 62 by means of a thrust collar 63 provided on said rod which abuts a shoulder 64 formed by the piston on one side thereof and a seal 65 on the other side so that movement of the piston will be transferred to the control rod 62 whereby it can actuate through suitable lever means, not shown, the mechanism also not shown for controlling the speed of the device being governed.

The perforated disc is provided with a plurality of radially extending vane members 66 circumferentially spaced relative to the axial center of the vessel, which vanes project axially into the liquid compartment 56. These vanes intermesh and overlap a plurality of similar radially extending vane members 67 spaced on the face of the piston member 55 delineating the liquid chamber 56 circumferentially relative to the axial center of the vessel and extending axially into the liquid compartment 56.

Actuating fluid is continuously delivered to the liquid compartment 56 through the transverse passages 68 and fluid supply chamber 69 in the piston member 55 and the passage 70 formed in the hollow internal rod 62 which communicates between the uid supply chamber 69 and a source of fluid under pressure, not shown.

Actuating uid is continuously discharged from the liquid compartment through the plurality of perforations or openings 71 in the perforated disc 51.

A hollow member 72 having an axially disposed nozzle 73 communicating with the perforations or openings 74 connects with a return line 7S which communicates with the source of fluid, not shown. The hollow member 72 is adapted to be moved so the nozzle 73 may be adjusted radially inward and outward relative to the axial center of the vessel 50 as is illustrated by the various positions a, b and c, in Figure 3 of the drawings.

Operation In operation, actuating uid is passed to the liquid compartment 56 through the passage 70 in the control rod 62, fluid supply chamber 69, and transverse passages 68 above described. As the vessel and piston are rotated by the shaft 54 the intermeshing vanes 66 and 67 will place the actuating tluid in the compartment 56 in motion so that a ring of liuid is formed, the inner radius of which will be controlled by the radial position of the nozzle 73 in the hollow member 72. The liquid in the compartment will tlow through the perforation 7l in the disc 51 by differential pressure and will 4be returned by the hollow member 72 through the return line 75 to the source of pressure.

For each particular position of the nozzle 73 a different governing speed will be obtainable because the nozzle will control the inner radius of the ring of fluid formed in the compartment 56 and hence the volume of liquid that will be acted `upon in the compartment. v

Where the shaft accelerates or decelerates the piston will be actuated to move the control rod 62 by addition or removal of iluid through equilibrium with the incoming and outgoing fluid in the compartment 56, the axial relationship of the openings of the transverse passages 68 and the axial relation of the nozzle 73 acting in much the same manner as `above described with respect to Figure 4 in the form of the invention shown in Figure l.

lt will be understood that changes may be made in the form, location and materials used in the construction of an arrangement of the various parts of the apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the principles of the invention which is not to be limited excepting by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A variable governor adapted to control the speed of a rotatable shaft at more than one speed setting comprising, a vessel xed to and rotatable with said shaft, means slidably disposed in said vessel to form a compartment for receiving actuating fluid, vane means disposed to rotate the fluid in said compartment in accordance with the rotational speed of said shaft whereby said iluid will act to move said means in one direction, tension means to tuge the slidable means in a direction opposite and proportional to any reduction in force exerted by the actuating fluid, a non-rotatable governor control rod connected to said slidable means to be moved axially relative to said vessel, a container at one end of said governor rod forming a fluid supply chamber disposed in said compartment, a passage providing communication Ibetween said fluid supply chamber and a source of actuating uid, a nozzle element slidably mounted in said uid supply chamber and extending radially into said compartment, said nozzle having axially disposed openings to provide means for supplying iluid to said liquid compartment, and means to adjust the relative radial position of said axially disposed openings to regulate the quantity of actuating fluid in said compartment during operation of the governor and to stabilize the action of said actuating Huid,

2. In a variable governor as claimed in claim l wherein said adjusting means includes a shaft extending axially through said passage, an eccentric on one end of said shaft Pivotally connected to said nozzle, and crank means disposed exteriorly of said governor connected to the other end of said shaft.

3. A variable speed control governor for a rotatable shaft comprising a cylindrical body fixed to said shaft for rotation therewith, a liquid compartment in one end of said body, a diaphragm disposed adjacent said compartment, a `bellows connected at one end thereof to said diaphragm land at the other end thereof to the body end wall to permit axial movement of the diaphragm in said body, a liquid container positioned in said compartment, a non-rotating and hollow governor rod connected to said diaphragm for axial movement therewith, said hollow rod in communication with the liquid container for passing liquid therethrough to said container, radial vanes formed on said body adjacent said container therein, other radial vanes on said diaphragm extending into said compartment between said body vanes, said diaphragm vanes hav ing radially extending recesses therein, said body and diaphragm vanes rotating the liquid in said compartment to move the diaphragm and rod axially in one direction when the shaft speed exceeds a predetermined value, tension means for moving the diaphragm and rod axially in the opposite direction when the shaft speed falls below said predetermined value, a nozzle on said container extending into said recesses, said nozzle having an axial opening therein, and nozzle adjusting means for changing the radial displacement of said axial opening from References Cited inthe file of this patent 350,612l v 372,382 I146,642

FOREIGN PATENTS VGermany Mar. 23, Germany Mar. r27, Great Britain July .14, -Great Britain Jan. 15, Great Britain Apr. 18, 

